March 2004
is there any point in using either the fuel additives you add each time you fill up or the stuff you add to the oil? if so which ones? (i've got a vw tdi) Read more
Is it possible to have an alloy wheel 'fixed' if it has been dented on the inside rim by a pothole? It has been balanced without problem but we are losing air from the tyre as a result. Read more
D.D.
Don't forget that H.G.V.'s also carry a lot more weight than your average car, they may not go as fast as your average car, but their tyres take a hell of a pounding due to the weights invloved, even a few p.s.i. down can cause a tyre to overheat to the extent that the tyre just 'blows', leaving the familiar trails of tread on the motorway.
Pastyman
this morning on the m5 i saw a transit van that had had a blow out causing it to do a spectacular spin ending up pointing the wrong way in the outside lane.
it got me thinking that you often see HGV tyres shredded by the side of the motorway but rarely car tyres.
why? Read more
I followed a smoking pair of wheels for about 1/2 mile at about 15 mph along the M4 last week. The double wheels had fallen off a supermarket lorry and he'd stopped about 1 mile further on up the road. The wheels would have carried on forever - they were going in a straight line in lane 1 - a man in a Veccy tried to sideswipe them to a halt, but eventually they were stopped by a breakdown truck.
anybody help local motorway m32 junction 2 access heading for m4 has a hatched area before hard shoulder on slip road , would i be correct in assuming you cant park in this area anyone quote me the laws on it,please, police camera van parked on it yesterday and i need the info to rant at them.
many thanks ..keo..
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i have nothing against law and order but in the bristol area we have an unofficial club called the 41 club its members are locals who have been caught and prosecuted for 41 in a 40 limit i kid you not this is zero tolerance and is the reason why locals get so wound up about these mobile cash machines . if you are doing 50 in a 40 fair cop but 41 seems ridiculous we also seem to have lots of new limits imposed over short distances ie long 50 short 40 short 30 back to 40 then back to 50 allin a couple of hundred yards and for no apparent reason except finance
I have a nasty scrape in my roof as the result of a multi storey carpark/roof rack interface in a Benny Hill moment, in fact I expect to be on You've Been Framed shortly. As I intend to keep my Passat until its death circa 250k miles I didn't bother to claim on my insurance. It does look a little untidy though, does anyone know of a vinyl roof kit I could apply to lose the dent and tidy up the appearance of the car somewhat? Read more
Why not put one of those affro style ones one like the Cortina in the ad on tv. ;-)
Friend of mine has a 51 Reg MINI Cooper. Went back to BMW due to a grinding noise on front wheels at low speed. Having looked in HJ\'s C-by-C breakdown I find it should have been re-called for front suspension. Mechanic claims to know nowt. Looks it up on computer and sure enough it should have been. Goes back in a week later due to parts not in garage. Has the job supposedly done. Friend drives car for half an hour and yellow \"You have a puncture\" light comes on on dash. Tyres checked, no probs. Light usually / sometimes comes on after driving about half an hour. Obviously no tyre problem. Anyone got any ideas ? Yes, I know it can go back under the \"TLC\" package but dealer is a good 40 mins away. Read more
i remember some years ago dunlop denovo tyres on a rover, supposed to run flat and be safe in blowout situations didnt help when i lost the rover due to a blowout nearly killed me and did kill the car . they probably have improved this technology over the years but i dont know if i would trust it i prefer to know whats going on ,and feel it . just a personal opinion mind.
My nightmare with the seemingly incurable ECU of my auto A6 continues. When I get it back, it's going. I took a risk with a "cheap" car that had 95k on it when I bought it, but that's life
It'll be my last auto, but what car has the least amount of electronic engine management to go wrong, but is still a "modern" car?
Perhaps I should be looking for reliable every day classic, I only do about 12k pa, mostly a 14 mile commute. I'm not that fussed by gadgets and gizmos, but I'd like a mixture of reliability, low cost servicing and prestige and a bit of stand out. Read more
So something out of the ordinary, then.
A barge maybe. Have a look at Richard Hall's excellent website bangernomics.tripod.com for a few suggestions of how to travel in style, cheaply. He's also got suggestions for other more interesting cars - how about a Triumph?
Alternatively search autotrader for 'leather' and under £1,000 and see what takes your fancy.
You need to do some lateral thinking, otherwise you're just going to be recommended a Golf GTSR3iXXXi (or whatever). Hence my W123 suggestion.
Remember, if it goes badly wrong, you just bin it!
what do you think the best family sized diesel car would be for around a grand
has to be vectra size and cheap to run
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Sorry to disagree, but a turbo on a diesel would be a plus to me.
It cleans up the exhaust rather than provide extra go. Because a turbocharger on a diesel is relatively unstressed, it will last a lot longer. At this price, I would be looking at a ZX TD or a 306 TD. Go to £2000 and a 1994/5 Golf TDI should be in view. Happy hunting.
OK. Time to confess. Following theft of my old banger, MB W123 230TE, I rang somebody who matches buyers and sellers for Mercedes. He said 'I have just the car for you, it's an excellent example just like the one you lost'. (Aren't they always.)
Went to view it wearing my suit, in the dark on a rainy evening (I know, I know, but he was a specialist, and I even said to him I wouldn't normally view a car like this, I didn't even get to see it start from cold... nor to lift the top off the radiator)
It turns out that this particular specimen belonged to him, and he had been driving it (on and off) for 6 weeks. It was registered on the V5 under his trading name.
It was 2 years and 5k since its last service, and it was not the world's best runner, being inclined to idle on 3 cylinders. We discussed this for a time, and he said 'I am sure that it's nothing major, and that it will be easily fixed'. Imagining new leads, plugs, rotor etc. would do the trick I was inclined to agree.
Being carless, and time poor I took it off his hands for £900 which was certainly generous, but I knew that, and that's OK.
Of course, the problem is related to using a litre of oil every 75 miles (see thread in 'Technical'); and is 99% certainly a replacement engine job which will of course cost more than the car is worth - I'm not going to be repairing it on Southwark Bridge, ND - although if I do, perhaps you'll come to help next time you pass! This explains why he was so insistent that I put some more oil into it the moment I picked it up from him, although it was on 'min' and would have been changed last Sunday and I only had 25 miles to do to get home.
Buyer's known purpose was a car that would drive - not a bottom up restoration project; we discussed this. What instead I have is an expensive piece of scrap metal.
Any comeback under SoGA? Misrepresentation Act?
Or do I just wait until 31 January 2005 and write to his Inspector of Taxes and suggest he check where the profit on this car is (paid cash). In fact, no need. I have the receipt that makes no reference to VAT, and I am sure that HMC&E would be interested as he is, otherwise, VAT registered. He can do his best to say that it was a 'private sale' but the V5 was registered under his trading name.
Write out 100 times: I am an idiot; they'll always lie to you; never inspect a car in the dark or wet or when wearing a suit. Read more
M.M.
That 190E sounds interesting! Would you please let me know more on 07759816766. Thank you.
John
Is there much difference in the design of a turbo for a diesel as opposed to one for a petrol engine?
I ask because I've heard generally turbos in petrol engines are good for around 70k or so before problems start and wondered if this was similar for a diesel (in my case a 1.8TDi Focus) Read more
Diesel turbos run much cooler than petrol ones, and much less likely to be on extreme performance machines getting thrashed. Plenty of diesel turbos around that have covered 200+k miles without trouble - just keep changing the oil as recommended and use a decent one!
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RichardW
Is it illogical? It must be Citroen....
Browse
I use Forte products all the time to counteract a number of problems that I come across regularly like fouled injectors, carbon buildup, dirty Oxygen sensors etc. I also dose diesels at every service with ther Fuel conditioning brew applied directly into the fuel filter followed by a good fast 'blast' particularly if an MOT test is imminent. For severe problems I dilute the conditioner with the same amount of derv and using a rig I devised myself run the engine at a fast idle circulating this mixture through the system independently of the cars fuel supply. I would advocate the use of the Millers fuel additive at every fillup purely to enhance the lubricity of the fuel. A source has told me that a major manufacturer is actually adding 'an additive' to new cars fuel tanks before delivery to protect the new systems against the lack of lubricity in modern fuels......
Andrew
Simplicate and add lightness!!